NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW by Chuck Palahniuk: a dark reality that calls on readers to look inward and outward, to scrutinize our contemporary world, and to act if we want to change things for the good or the very worst of living creatures, especially the joeys.
Please be sure of nothing except that Chuck Palahniuk’s newest novel does not directly call on readers to do anything.
That is merely one interpretation that I had for NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW; our world is not displayed in blacks and whites but shades of grays and stark colors, as does the grim earth that NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW is set in.
So, whether you feel you are being called upon to assist in the exposing of the Empire, or to save struggling joeys from the perilous fur of a mama kangaroo, or you wish to preserve the Empire, at any cost, including spitting in a dropped joey’s eye, or you feel you ought merely to reflect upon the story and its wily metaphors is entirely up to you, Fictioneers.
This is why metaphors are such powerful vessels for great themes, morals, expressed traumas, and impactful events.
The following book review of NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW is *Spoiler-Free.
This classic tale is darker than FIGHT CLUB and INVISIBLE MONSTERS and is every bit as enjoyable.
Psychopaths have never been so fun or redeeming!
The help begin to suspect the enormous Welsh home that brothers Cecil and Otto live in, fornicate in, and murder the help in is cursed, as the number of nannies, drivers, and butlers’ bodies pile higher and higher over the years of the brothers’ youth.
In fact, the family business, from Mummy, to Daddy, to Grandfather, is that of professional killers responsible for the most infamous murders and alleged ‘suicides’ in history.
NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW will have you choked up, whether you feel for tragic characters in the tale, or are reading while eating (Blood RWE Level = .07-Choking Hazard).
This book displays a mastery of language throughout, especially the thick Welsh accents and the Sir Richard Attenborough impersonations (not to be confused with David Attenborough, folks). Readers can look forward to every sentence in this book being of impact, as a carefully thought out and expertly voiced style makes for a truly unique use of language.
NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW is a genre bender and hits on hilarious satire, horror that makes one wince, killer thriller events, and literary style.
I love all of Chuck Palahniuk’s books but NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW is a new favorite for me, right alongside INVISIBLE MONSTERS and FIGHT CLUB.
I rated NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW 5/5 Stars on Goodreads here.
And finally here is Chuck Palahniuk describing how NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW came about:
This book arose quite literally from the ashes of the amazing Shirley Jackson. Picture two siblings isolated in a colossal country manor. Dark secrets. Frightened villagers spreading rumors galore. Twenty years ago, Jackson’s daughter sent me her mother’s cremated remains, and this book came about. Not Forever, But for Now could be the bastard half-brother of We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Look for a landslide of dread broken only by laughter and occasional heartbreak. More people get buried alive than A. E. Poe ever dared entomb. More Frankenstein monsters menace more villagers than Mary Shelley dared put on the page.
Cecil and Otto, the two young brothers in Not Forever, live a Henry James life. Their crenellated manse and pony carts and lemon syllabub depend on the two small boys going forth to do the dirty deeds that keep the Empire alive. But will they? How many footmen and nannies and movie stars must they kill to ensure the privileged luxury of the few? Amble through stoney lunatic asylums. Go big game hunting in London’s Hyde Park. I cordially invite you for romantic strolls with escaped homicidal maniacs. You’ll find the magic dust of Shirley Jackson’s ashes sprinkled on every page.
The Forgotten Fiction Grade: YEA (read it!)
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“NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW by Chuck Palahniuk: a dark reality” Was Written By R.J. Huneke. The image of the Best-selling NOT FOREVER, BUT FOR NOW is from https://www.facebook.com/chuckpalahniuk/.
